Time was no longer shy about Shade, revealing all its secrets to him. The long river of time became complete in Shade's eyes, and the bridge connecting the Fifth Era and the present time finally showed itself.
He wanted to stand up, but the feeling of weakness, bleeding from all seven orifices and a splitting headache almost made Xia De fall to the ground, but fortunately the doctor supported him in time.
"I'm fine."
Xia De, looking dazed, covered his head with his left hand, handed the relics in his right hand to the doctor and asked him to put them back into the box, while he held onto the wall and tried to keep himself steady.
"That is to say, after the end of the Fifth Era, there was the first Sixth Era. Then the time of the Sixth Era was destroyed, and everything returned to the beginning of the Sixth Era, and time flowed to the second Sixth Era. Afterwards, the time of the second Sixth Era was also completely destroyed, and everything returned to the beginning of the Sixth Era, entering the third Sixth Era..."
If Shade had not already entered the fifth ring, and his soul and body had not become stronger after several adventures, he suspected that his head would have exploded like a watermelon the moment he got the truth just now.
The Sixth Era of the Past had been repeated six times, and the era when the outsiders arrived was the seventh cycle of the Sixth Era. At the end of the Thousand Trees Forest adventure, the Old God's Transformation Door had hinted that this was not the Sixth Era in the true sense, which was a very accurate description.
The real Sixth Age had long gone, but it was still the Sixth Age. Strictly speaking, this was not the Sixth Age, but the answer given by the perception of time was not wrong.
"What happened in the past?"
A soft chuckle emerged from the bottom of her heart. "Her" smile soothed Xia De's explosive mental restlessness and also stabilized his extremely unstable soul.
"Doctor, I want to get some night air... I feel a little dizzy."
He said quietly, and the doctor nodded with some concern before watching Shade open the barred door leading to the mechanism behind the giant dial of the clock tower.
Behind the fence gate was a horizontal wooden path surrounded by barbed wire. This path was inserted into the center of the giant gears, allowing the mechanics to enter the inside of the machine. At the end of this path was a locked door on the wall. After Shade opened the door with the door key, he held the metal fence near his waist and pushed the metal plate fixed by the slide outward. With some sharp sounds, the road extended outward, and they walked out of the small door on the dial, holding the cold metal horizontal bar, and stood under the starry sky with falling snow.
It's a bit like standing on the terrace outside the clock tower, except that this terrace is too small, but there's no need to worry about being seen.
"Did it work?"
The doctor asked. The cold winter night wind blew on the two of them. Shade nodded reluctantly. He felt like his lungs were on fire, his ears were buzzing, and his brain felt like a brick was stuffed into it. But he was also recovering quickly, so this result was not surprising to him. Or rather, he had already guessed part of the truth.
"Not long ago, I met an old professor in Huntington."
Xia De's voice was so hoarse that it startled even him:
"He was as crazy about seeking knowledge as Laikins Prisher, but after truly touching the mystery, he became afraid and retreated."
The doctor looked at Xia De with some confusion, wondering why Xia De told this story.
"Doctor, do you know?"
He looked at the blue-eyed psychiatrist under the night sky:
"I am actually madly seeking knowledge, pursuing the truth about the world and everything. And now, I have found it."
The doctor was stunned, then asked:
"Are you scared too?"
"Of course not."
"So, like Laikins Prisher, you want more?"
"Of course not. This will be enough for now."
The doctor smiled and said:
"You see, you are not like Rickens Prisher, nor like that old professor you were talking about."
"We live on a peaceful island called Ignorance, surrounded by an endless black ocean..."
Shade said softly, holding onto the cold metal bar and looking out at the city under the starry sky.
Professor Drake said, the dark grave is before my eyes, I wish to lie there forever, listening to the wind and waves;
Sir Prissy said, but we still have to go out to sea to explore, to witness, to desire, and to seek knowledge.
The doctor at this moment said:
"Go out to sea with caution, proud sailor. Lower your sails, gently row your oars, and sail carefully in the endless dark sea. Lower your head and open your eyes. In the ocean called truth, there is destined to be another piece of soil where you and I can survive."
Shade laughed:
"Doctor, maybe you can really become a writer."
"Really? I think so too."
The doctor also smiled and said, and together with Shad, they looked at the lights of Tobesk City from the top of the clock tower.
"Just now you asked me what knowledge and wisdom are. Now, I want to change the answer -"
The cold wind whistled past the side of the clock tower, carrying snowflakes around them. Above their heads, the Milky Way was covered by dark clouds, and three moons shone on the earth behind the lighthouse; below their feet, the chessboard-like grid of gas lamps in Tobysk, the pearl of the north, and the clusters of fire in the gray fog extended into the darkness, revealing the steam city dotted across the plain.
The gray fog was hazy, the snow was slightly cold, and two giant black pointers were slowly turning behind them. Standing side by side at the highest point of the city in the darkness, it seemed as if they could reach out and touch the dark night sky.
Xia De folded his hands in front of his chest, and the middle-aged doctor stretched out his right hand and pointed forward. It was like the two smallest shadows on the top of the clock tower that occupied the main part of the painting, which attached great importance to light and shadow.
Compared to this foggy city lit up by tiny dots of light, they were tiny:
“The lights we see before us at night, the chimneys standing in the snow in the distance, and the huge machinery running behind us, these are the knowledge and wisdom of our time.”
"civilization?"
Xia De asked. The doctor thought for a moment, smiled and nodded:
"Yes, civilization."
Behind the doctor, the shadow of the Life Ring appeared in the steam mist, and a new Enlightenment Spirit Rune appeared because of the touch of this moment.
Amid the slightly harsh sounds of bells and whistles, her gentle voice also appeared in the drifting snowflakes:
In the present world, the sixth era, the year 1854 of the Universal Calendar, winter, the first month of birth. No one can see your face clearly in the snowy night, just as no one can solve your mystery on the road to knowledge. Crazy seekers of knowledge will eventually fall into eternal madness; cautious keepers of secrets will get the power they crave. The old gods give blessings, the angels grant power, and the keepers of secrets guide the way forward. Twelve trials, new adventures and legends. O stranger surrounded and pampered by the witch, when you draw your sword, at this moment, you will dispel the fog of ignorance and glimpse the truth of time. What does this knowledge mean to you
Xia De looked at the foggy city in silence, letting the snowflakes fall on his shoulders:
"Actually, you are also my secret keeper."
She chuckled and asked:
So please let me test you - what is the truth about time
"There are six past lives and the sixth era, and now is the seventh sixth era. The real sixth era has long gone... Luvia... Luvia's other self is the so-called 'reborn' or 'time destroyer'. She already knows everything, and maybe she is the one who caused everything in the past and present lives. But I can't be sure whether every time time goes back is related to her."
Whispering softly in my ear:
Stranger, you have touched wonder, blasphemy, enlightenment, whispers
You have learned the complete truth about time, and you can choose not to be affected by time-related powers. Time-related powers are permanently and significantly enhanced.
Contact with the Shadow of the Tree Father: No spirit is consumed.
Blade of Chaos Space-Time: Can summon up to three weapons from time at the same time.
Echoes of the Past: The listening time is extended to 72 hours in the "Afterglow of Divinity" state and 48 hours in the normal state.
Ancient Voices: Gain more information after touching First Age items.
Breath of Time: The reversal time is extended to three years, and the acceleration time is extended to ten years. The lifespan consumed is one fifth of the affected time.
"This time, it must be the last time in the Sixth Era. I will change everything."
Xia De let out a sigh of relief, watching the hot air from his nose turn into white smoke and drift away in the snow with the wind. Then he turned his head slightly under the starry sky and said to the doctor who was feeling the power and whose life ring had disappeared behind him:
"Doctor, thank you for your help tonight. The ceremony went well. Please let me stab you with an arrow after the exam tomorrow."
"What?"
The doctor in front of the clock tower dial looked curiously at Shad's face in the darkness.
"I got an arrow, and that arrow..."
All the adventures since winter came to mind, and the unexpected power gained from the knowledge of time was also in his heart. Xia De felt something in his heart, smiled and shook his head gently:
"I mean—knowledge, really, is power."
Then he turned back to look at the city below him, holding the railing with both hands and tapping the metal with his right index finger.
As he finished speaking, a dark golden phantom book appeared behind Shade, opening and closing again. The light and shadow were so dim that Shade himself could not see it, but this time, the doctor was sure that he saw it.
The blue-eyed, middle-aged psychiatrist blinked curiously but said nothing.
One of them held the railing with both hands, and the other one clasped his hands on his chest. The gentlemen in black coats stood in front of the clock tower, looking at the lights of Tobysk in the snow. A new year has really begun.
Only "she" smiled and said:
You have gained new powers, stranger.
(End of this volume)